Port Jervis ump Bell mans right-field line for LLWS title game

John Bell got to umpire the first game of the Little League World Series and the final game, and in between he created memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.

KEN McMILLAN

John Bell got to umpire the first game of the Little League World Series and the final game, and in between he created memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.

“It was a great two weeks, an exciting two weeks,'' said Bell, an umpire from the Port Jervis Little League and a resident of Milford, Pa. “There are some amazing umpires here. I didn't anticipate getting the plate for the championship game because there are some great umpires but I was hopeful I could crack the top six.''

Indeed, Bell was chosen as the umpire covering the right-field line for Sunday's world championship game in South Williamsport, Pa. Japan rallied with three runs in the fifth inning and beat Chula Vista, Calif., 6-4. “To be picked for the finals is an honor,'' he said.

Each of the 16 volunteer umpires chosen got to work 12 games and each had two games behind the plate, as Bell did in the tourney opener on Aug. 15.

“That is about as fair as it can get,'' Bell said. “Ultimately, I would have liked to have earned a base (for the final) but I think they took a look at where everybody has worked, and I had worked the bases the last three games so that might have played a factor of me not getting a base this time. They try to be 'even-Steven.'''

Sunday's final was the third Japanese game Bell had called and the first time he had seen California. “They really are the two high-profile teams,'' he said.

Bell took a memorable foul pitch off his mask in the first inning of his first game. In later games, he was involved in two instant replay calls at his first- and third-base bags. “Thankfully, both times the instant replay official agreed with me,'' Bell said.

This was the longest single-site tournament Bell had ever umpired and he took the opportunity to forge lasting relationships, much like the players do with one another.

“We spend a lot of time with each other,'' Bell said of the umpiring crew, half of whom hail from the United States and the other from around the world. “We make friendships here that will last a lifetime.''

Dozens of friends and family members made the trip to Williamsport to support Bell, for which he was very grateful. His parents made five separate trips over the 11-day tournament, including Sunday's finale.

Bell has attended the Little League World Series for the past 15 years, and he suspects his future visits will never be quite the same.

“There's no doubt,'' Bell said. “Everything is on a whole different level when you are part of it. I will always look at things different from here on. I have been lucky. I had a chance to live the dream.''